noun
- A line on a computer terminal at which commands are typed.
- A string of characters that constitute such a command.
command line
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"command line." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 06 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line>.
APA Style
command line. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line
Noun
(plural command lines)
- A shell, a command line interface; usually used with the definite article.
- I'm so used to the command line that I don't even know how to find things in the GUI.
- The command line offers a lot of helpful features, such as tab completion and wildcard expansion.
- (computing) The text prompt presented to the user in a command line interface.
- Type the following at the command line: du -s -h.
- A line of text that is entered at such a prompt.
- Use the following command line to compile a file without linking: gcc -c main.c -o main.o
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"command line." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 06 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line>.
APA Style
command line. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line
command line - Computer Definition
Also known as the command prompt or the DOS prompt (for Microsoft Windows–based systems) or the shell (for UNIX or Linux based systems). A fundamental user interface (distinct from the graphical user interface) designed to be used by advanced users and system administrators and employed by hackers and crackers to complete exploits.
Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"command line." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 06 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line>.
APA Style
command line. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line
Software that provides a blank line and cursor on screen, allowing the user to type in instructions for immediate execution. All major operating systems (Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux, etc.) support command lines that programmers and power users can employ to perform file management operations directly and often more efficiently than by using a graphical user interface (GUI). After typing a command, it is executed by pressing the Enter key. Windows Examples There are numerous Windows commands in this encyclopedia, and two examples follow. To do these operations in Windows Explorer or a Windows-based Pkzip utility would take numerous mouse clicks. See Windows commands. Command Operation Performed copy *.html d:\abc Copy HTML files to ABC folder in D drive pkzip xyz *.jpg Compress all JPEG files into the Zip archive XYZ.ZIP. Interactive or Sequential Commands can be executed one at a time by typing the command and pressing Enter. They can also be executed as a group, in which case the commands are typed into a "batch" or "script" file. The file name is typed on the command line, and pressing Enter causes each command to be executed in order. See batch file abc's, cmd abc's, command processor and PowerShell.
Windows Command Line
After the command prompt was launched, the command cd /stage switches focus to the STAGE folder. The dir *.cmd lists all the Windows batch files, and prepnew executes the commands in the prepNEW.cmd file.
Mac/Unix/Linux Command Line
This example from Mac OS X, which is a Unix-based operating system, shows two commands issued after the command line ("terminal window") was launched. The cd desktop switches focus to the desktop, and ls X* lists all files that begin with upper case "X."
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"command line." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 06 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line>.
APA Style
command line. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/command-line
